


Queen of Disaster

by aliscoles



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: F/M, rape mention, sexual harassment mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-03-18 04:59:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3556940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliscoles/pseuds/aliscoles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meet "Red" Surana. Younger sister of Zachary Amell. Best friend to Jowan. Complicated and secretive relationship with Anders. Youngest Harrowed mage. Known as the "Red Menace" of the Ferelden Circle. One of three remaining Grey Wardens who can stop the Blight from tearing the world asunder. Follow her adventures both inside the Circle and out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Runaways

**Author's Note:**

> Red and Anders sneak out of the Tower and across the lake and experience freedom for the first time.

Red watched the Circle get further and further away as Anders rowed them towards the shore. The two young apprentices had snuck out during a change in the Templar shifts and the sun was just rising on the horizon.  

The thirteen year old elf girl turned her eyes away from the Circle and back to Anders, “We didn’t get our phylacteries,” she said, nervous. Anders frowned.

“Yeah,” he said, “We’ll have to go back before we’re missed.”

Red’s lips pushed together, “You wait till they miss you.” She pointed out.

“The two of us will get caught if we run and you don’t have a record.”

“Awww,” Red cooed, “You care about me!”

Anders hunched his shoulders and turned his face away from Red, “I don’t care about anyone,” the sulky teenager replied.

Red shook her head, “You care about me though,” she laughed, “And Zachary and Jowen.”

Anders rolled his eyes, “Whatever you say, Red.”

Red smiled indulgently like this, she was used to Anders’s sulky moods by now. She didn’t mind them. Instead she focused her attention on the shore drawing closer and closer. Excitement built in her and Red could barely stay seated while Anders landed the boat on the shore. She bounced excitedly in her seat as Anders stepped out, into the water.  

Red grinned, “This is going to be my very first step on real land since I was a tot!”

“I’ll make it special,” Anders winked, coming out of his sulky mood. Red took his hand excitedly and Anders pulled her close, spinning her off her feet and into the air.

“Waaahh!” Red yelped, clinging tight to Anders’s neck, “What are you doing, you goof?!” She demanded, laugh bubbling out of her like water from a brook.

“Your first step should be on dry land, not mushy lake mud, m’princess!” Anders announced dramatically. He switched his hold from her waist so he was carrying her like a princess then took her the few steps to shore. 

Red rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop herself from smiling an ear splitting smile. Anders set her down on the grass and Red wiggled her toes in the grass enjoying the feeling, “Grass!” She exclaimed with excitement. Anders smiled indulgently at her. Grass, after your first few escapes, was just grass, but he understood her enthusiasm.

She spread her arms wide, “No walls! No ceiling! Just sky! And the sky is so blue!”

“It’s the same sky from back at the Circle,” Anders pointed out cheekily.

Red turned about and smacked him in the chest and glared.

“No, no, of course! You’re right Red! It’s a different sky! The sky above the Circle is different!” Anders exclaimed, trying to hold back Red.

Red gave him another grin, so bright that her pretty brown eyes closed. Anders smiled back, softer. Red was a pretty thing. He hadn’t noticed until he had gotten her out of the tower, but she really was very pretty. 

Red opened her eyes and grabbed his hand, “Come on!” She yelped with joy and ran forward.

Anders laughed and let her pull him along, putting up just enough ‘resistance’ to get her keep her grip on his hand and keep squeezing it and tugging him along. She would turn her big brown eyes back at him, a smile on her lips, and urge him to ‘come on’. If he listened completely though, she wouldn’t turn back to look at him. He didn’t know why that bothered him so much. 

“What are we doing?” Anders laughed, wondering why laughing around Red came so easily.

“I’m an elf,” Red announced proudly, pushing her messy red curls out of her face, “I’m frolicking.”

Anders almost choked at the completely straight way she announced it. “Frolicking?” He repeated trying, and failing, to mask his amusement.  

Red nodded very seriously, “Of course, as an elf, frolicking is a  _very_  important part of my culture. And I would be remiss if I didn’t fulfill my obligations as elf while I could.”

“Those are some mighty fancy words for a frolicking elf,” Anders returned slyly, “Been reading Zachary’s books?”

Red widened her eyes and made the most pitiable face, “He makes me study, Anders!” She announced, as if confessing to being tortured, “It’s dreadful! You must promise to take me with you the next time you run off! He makes me study!” She pulled herself up against him, clinging to his shirt.

Then she gave him a cheeky smile. Anders laughed loudly and pulled her into a hug, picking her up and spinning her about, “You are the cutest thing!” He announced as they spun. Anders ended up losing his footing and two rolled down the side of hill, landing at the base of a forest.

Their tumble resulted in Red ‘winning’ as she ended up on top. The teen elf was surprised at how broad Anders had gotten. She fit easily on his chest. She looked down at him and giggled at his stunned face. “What are you staring at, silly? Get the wind knocked out of you?” She asked, poking his nose.

Anders shook his head, clearing his thoughts at how pretty Red looked backlighted by the sun. Red rolled off of him, landing on her back beside him. “The grass feels lovely…” she sighed. “I don’t want to go back. We could go hide the boat, run away together!”

Anders felt his cheeks burning at her phrasing. He sat up, “We’ll get caught. I always do and I’m on my own. The two of us together? They’ll catch us quicker and then you’ll get punished.”

“They might not,” Red pointed out, frowning at him, “We’ll be smarter together. Two heads are better than-”

“You’re a girl, they’ll punish you worse…”

Red’s eyebrows pulled together, “They’ll go easier on me  _because_  I’m a girl.”

Anders shook his head, “Maybe, if you were younger…” he trailed off. An awkward silence passed. Both of them knew that Red had reached the age where the male templars were beginning to  _look_. If Anders was noticing how pretty she was, despite his self-swore ‘brother’ status, the templars had to be too.

“That’s why I want to leave,” Red pointed out quietly. Her voice was serious, and not the fake serious that she used for jokes. She sat up too, pulling her legs against her chest and tucking her chin against them.

“I’ve started to.. I mean…” Red gestured to her chest which was, Anders blushed and looked away, developing. “And other things too…”

“Is that why you started crying over that lemon cake last week?” Red kicked him in the leg sharply.

“Ow! S-sorry!”

“idiot…” Red muttered. She smiled, but she looked like she might cry. Anders inches closer to her.

“What’s wrong, Red?” He asked.

Red looked away from him, “I just… Lyra said…”

Anders frowned and slipped an arm around Red’s shoulders. He didn’t like where this was going. Red didn’t have a problem speaking her mind. Why was she suddenly tongue-tied?

“What did Lyra say?”

"She was talking about what the Templars do to pretty girls… the mean ones… she said they’re meaner to elves because even  _less_  people care what happens to elf mages. She told me about a pretty elf that was made tranquil because she was so pretty and she wouldn’t let the templars touch her. She said that that elf was lucky because something they don’t care if you-“

“That’s not going to happen to you.” Anders said seriously, feeling anger burn in him at the very idea, “Lyra was just trying to scare her.”

“Oh, no?” Red challenged, “That’s  _never_  happened  _ever?_  And who’s going to protect me? You? You’re never here. Jowen is… well intending but he’s nobody’s hero. Zachary can’t be there all the time. He’s going to be Harrowed soon and then who knows if we’ll see me again!” 

Anders blushed. Red could make good points when she wanted to.

Red stood up and started walking into the nearby forest, “R-red, wait!” Anders scrambled up and followed her.

Red spun around, and Anders was surprised. She wasn’t angry anymore. There was a look she couldn’t read. “I don’t want that to happen to me…” Red said quietly, leaning her back against the tree.

“I don’t imagine any girl would…”

“No, I mean… I know that its dangerous to be a young girl here. I…I don’t  _like_  it, but I guess I’ve come to terms with what will happen will happen…” Anders clutched his fists tightly, “I just don’t want my first kiss… my first _anything_  taken by them…”

Anders stared at her, “Red, you’re  _thirteen_.”

“So, you were doing this sort of thing at my age!” Red challenged, her cheeks burning.

“Zachary and Jowen would  _kill_  me.”

“Anders, you’re my  _friend_. I trust you. I know you. I…I may I don’t know…” Red trailed off.

“Are you  _confessing_  to me?” Anders asked shocked.

“No!” Red yelped, her pretty brown eyes widening, “Yes- I, I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?” Anders asked, trying not to sound amused. It wasn’t funny. None of this was. But if he didn’t laugh he would cry.

“Shut up,” Red instructed, her cheeks burning red.

“Red…” Anders stared at her. She was  _beautiful_. Red wasn’t like the other girls in the Circle. He was  _supposed_ to think of her like a sister, but Anders didn’t. She would  _never_  be a sister to him. The attachment he felt for her scared him. He couldn’t take it any further. He wanted to but this attachment was something that could be taken away. If she were just a friend, losing her would hurt, but getting closer and then losing her. Anders didn’t know if he would survive that.

“Red…” Anders took her face in his hands, “You’re  _thirteen_. You’re young. You’re scared. You don’t know whether or not this is something you want.”

Red’s eyes started to water and Anders felt like a sword had been run threw him. He wasn’t even being  _honest_. It wasn’t that he just was worried about her decision making. He  _couldn’t_  get that attached to her. He couldn’t open himself up when he could just lose her. They would rip them apart, send him away. He couldn’t do that.

“Anders,  _please_. Nobody else is going to risk Zachary’s wrath. A-and I wouldn’t  _want_  anyone else!” She pulled closer to him.

Anders wrapped his arms around her, “Not  _that_ ,” his cheeks burned. Usually he could be blunt. It was just the body, but around Red he was shy. “But… can I kiss you?”

Red blushed and hid her face in his chest and nodded.

Anders chuckled at the small elf, “I can’t kiss you if you’re hiding, Red.” He pointed out. 

Red tilted her head up and pressed her lips boldly against his. Anders was surprised and froze. Red pulled away quickly leaving Anders with the scent of lemon cakes and the taste of apples on his lips and wanted another taste. 

"Now who’s the shy one?" Red challenged. 

"tease," Anders responded lightly, smiling at Red. She could turn sad situtations into funny ones without batting an eyelash. He reached out to pull her close again but Red danced out of his grip. 

"Red!" Anders exclaimed, "I thought you  _wanted_  me to kiss you.”

"I do," Red agreed, "But I don’t want to waste my only free day out either. So, catch me if you can skirt-wearer!" Red dashed off, with Anders following on her heel.

"They’re  _robes_  and you wear them too!”

"I’m a girl, I’m  _allowed_  to wear dresses!” Despite the fact that Red had a head start and could make sharper turns then Anders. He was faster and his feet weren’t sensitive to the sticks and rocks of the forest. In a few moments he had his arms around Red. He spun her against before pushing her against a tree. The two stared at each other.

"Caught you~" Anders teased, trying not to sound out of breath and failing. 

Red laughed breathlessly.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked again. Red nodded and Anders leaned in. And for a few moments the two were lost in the scent of eachother.  

“Anders? Red?” Zachary’s voice came from not that far away. Anders and Red sprung away from each other. Red fixed her hair quickly and Anders smoothed out his wrinkled robes.

“Big brother is going to kill me…” Anders laughed, though it was pained.

Red shook her head, “I can’t believe he found us. Come on, if we meet him, he might not yell at us!” She grabbed Anders hand, and pulled him out of the woods, “I didn’t know you were part mabari, Zach!” 

 


	2. Thirty Pieces of Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place just after Red and Zack get picked up by the Grey Wardens. She’s less than happy about her situation.

A distressed looking elf paced back and forth in the small wooden cart. It was taking her and her stoic, human companion away from the large needle shaped tower that had been their home for the better part of their life.

“If you keep standing, you’re going to fall.” The human pointed out.

The elf turned to look at her companion before sitting down in a huff of wild, red curls. Even though she was sitting, she wasn’t keeping still. Her feet tapped against the floor. She wrung her hands. She shifted in her spot.

“You know how I said the day that Anders got solitary for a year was the worst day of my life?”

The human looked at her.

“Today, today is the worst day of my life.”

Then in an explosion of red, curls she was on her feet pacing.

“First, Zack, I’m ripped from my bed and forced into the Harrowing! Zack, the Harrowing is like throwing a baby into the water and seeing if it’ll swim, then blaming it when it drowns! I mean - we, we aren’t prepared for that shit!”

Zack’s eyebrows raised, not disagreeing with his elven companion, but seemingly surprised by her outburst.

“Then, then, the Grey Wardens show up. I’m all like ‘This is great. This is our chance-’ or my chance at least - ‘to escape!’” The red head stopped her pacing, her back to Zack.

She whirled around, red curls flying and catching in the failing light, “Then Jowen shows up with a girlfriend. A GIRLFRIEND. He’s my best friend, and he has a girlfriend. What in Andraste’s knockers?”

“Oh and he’s going to be made Tranquil! That is actually the worst scenario that could happen- one of you guys being made Tranquil. I can’t think of anything worse.” The elven girl’s whole body seemed to deflate and she sunk into her seat.  

“They said he was a blood mage. Jowen. When he was eight he fainted when he got a paper cut. I just thought, how someone who can’t stand the sight of blood can be a blood mage? I guess I forgot that people change… I just never thought Jowen would. He’s a bloody idiot! He got scared and instead of coming to us he went on his own and became a bloody, fucking idiot!”

The red head was on her feet again.

“And you knew, didn’t you!” She pointed roughly in Zack’s direction, as if she could stab him with her finger from the distance between them. Though, she was a mage, so maybe she could.

“You refused to help because you knew.” She ran her fingers through her wild curls - an act that failed comically and resulted her having to shake her hand free of her flesh eating hair, “I thought you were picking their side, but you knew…”

“Jowen does stupid things when he’s afraid. He always has.”

“But blood magic. That’s a death sentence!” The elf threw her hands in the air, “He lied to me. To me. I should have known! He lied about a girlfriend and then he lied about blood magic. I helped him, and he lied to me! He could have told the truth. Maybe I would have understood… it’s not like I have a problem with blood magic, outside of it being stupid to do within the tower. He threw me under the cart, Zack. He knew what they would do to me and he betrayed me, used me, and then let them take me.”

Zack’s grip on the railing of the cart tightened till his knuckles turned white. “You shouldn’t have trusted him, Red.”

“Shouldn’t have trusted my best friend?!” Red’s voice pitched high.

“Well look where you ended -”

“Not.helping.Zack.” Red collapsed into her seat. “He’s out there, Zack….”

“What are you going to do if you find him?” Zack asked with a skeptical raise of his eyebrows

“I’m going to kill him.”

Zack’s eyes widened and he stared at his red haired companion.

“Our whole life the Chantry and the Circle has made every important decision for us. This time… this time I thought I was making my own choice. He took that from me, by lying. I wasn’t really making a choice. He was just manipulating me. I’ll never forgive him. If he doesn’t care about me, about us. If he’d hurt us, then he’d do anything. He doesn’t get to live… he’s too dangerous.”

“And you want your revenge.” Zack pointed out.

Red gave him a toothy smile, “And I want my revenge.”

If Zack had mixed feelings about Red planning to murder their former friend, he didn’t voice them.


End file.
